In my opinion, pastel and delicate is a viable option.

If you want to keep it delicate and sweet, how about satin for the sashing. It doesn't hold up as well but if that's what you want. Maybe some soft lace sewn in the edges. Maybe the center square should be embroidered with her name or something like that.

Boy I don't know. I love the hearts as is! :)

I wholeheartedly agree--zebra print as the sashing.

I had another thought, how about using the pinks & whites, & making a few log cabins blocks to blend in with the heart blocks. Just simple ones, they could even add another design to the quilt, but keep your soft pink look. I would use the zebra print on the other side, & maybe do some pink hearts on it, or something. Then it would be like a reversible quilt, one side soft & pink, the other, bolder, with the zebra print & pink! Just my thoughts.....

I like this idea, then for the backing do the zebra and a pink heart in the middle (almost like opposites to tie them together)

If you want to set off the hearts a bit, try doing a button stitch around each heart in a bright pink thread. It would still keep it pink & white, but would certainly set off the hearts.

I would use the blanket stitch around the hearts in black, use a thin zebra print for the sashing, one last border of pink, and bind with zebra/ zebra backing.

Not sure how I wold handle zebra print, but I too would blanket stitch around the hearts is a deeper color. another thing I did once was add lace around the quilt, and on another I attached tiny bows to add a little extra sparkle.

I used the same pattern for all of these heart quilts. Maybe the pictures will help you decide on how you want to piece your applique blocks together.